'A rival coach' breaks down the Ravens offense for SI

As it is an annual tradition in the Vensel household every July, I picked up one of the many fantasy football preview magazines on Saturday while picking up some groceries. I went with the one from Sports Illustrated this year because the cover caught my eye most, and because it had many reality football nuggets sprinkled in.

"For this offense to have success, it needs to be able to run the ball. Quarterback Joe Flacco regressed last year, and I think part of that was because the defensive pressure got to him,” the coach said of Flacco, who tied a career-high with 12 interceptions in 2011. “He's not a player who can just drop back and beat you with his arm; he needs a successful running game to open things up. I would be shocked if he had a breakthrough season.”

“That dude is fast. He ran by us a few times,” the coach said of the wide receiver. “He doesn't have many routes in his tree, but he'll be a more polished receiver now that he's had a full off-season.”

Any guesses who the anonymous coach may be? I'm not going to throw any guesses out there, but I will point out that Smith had 11 catches for 198 receiving yards and a touchdown in two games against the Cincinnati Bengals last season. Hmmm…